Breathe
by Lobeira
Summary: “Be alive with me tonight,” she breathed against his lips before she kissed him.


**Author's Notes:** I don't own Bioware, Thane, or really anything ;_;. If I did, this is what would have happened after the fade-out in Mass Effect 2.

Contains: sexy drell chest, vibrations, zipper, and everything good and sweet in between! Dedicated to all the wonderful people in the Neck Snap Appreciation Society, because without all your perverted demands for smut and all the inspirational fics that everyone was sharing, I wouldn't have been able to write this!

* * *

"Be alive with me tonight," she breathed against his lips before she kissed him.

It was a tender reassurance and Thane's hands trembled in response to her gesture, before they slid up to her shoulders and he returned her kiss hesitantly. He wanted, no, needed her confirmation and when she slid her hands, _burning hot, _down his face and around to his back to pull him closer, he whispered her name like a prayer.

The parting of her lips, pliant and willing, beneath the prodding of his tongue made him groan in pleasure. She tasted of long forgotten dreams and _life_. And he had to pull away from her lips to press kisses against her jaw and trail a path down her neck before he was overwhelmed, and even then, there was a hidden desperation in the way that his hands tentatively explored her body.

The feather-light sensations left behind by his hands as they slid down her shoulders made her tremble, and her fingers dug into the thick leather of his jacket as his tongue danced over skin, sending her pulse jumping. Panting, she tilted her head to the side to bare the pale expanse of her throat to his mouth. But it was when his hands stroked down the curve of her spine that she jerked into him roughly with a strangled half-moan escaping her lips.

He chuckled softly at her violent reaction and continued to run his fingers teasingly over her sensitive spine, again and again, taking delight in the way she arched into him.

"Tease," Shepard panted before she dropped her head to bite him sharply in the shoulder in an attempt to stifle her gasp of pleasure.

Thane hissed quietly at her actions before tangling his hands into her hair and pulling her face up to his, and as he brushed his lips from her jaw to her ear, the contrast between her flesh and the slickness of his scales brought a shudder to both of them. His hot breaths stirred the fine hairs on her ear and she could only tremble as he whispered gutturally, "Do not silence yourself. I wish to hear you, siha."

When he withdrew to look at her, there was a flush of red that dusted her cheeks and nose which he found adorable. The delicate woman in front of him seemed to be a different woman than the Commander Shepard that everyone looked up to as their saviour of the galaxy. And yet, he could see the similarities between the two, like the passion that burned in her soul and expressed itself in her eyes. Keeping his eyes on her he let his fingers dance over her spine, and as she arched into him, he groaned in tandem with her moan.

Her legs were shaky from the electric sensations running through her and she briefly wondered if the spinning room and the addictiveness of his kisses had anything to do with the hallucinations she was supposed to experience. Every touch felt magnified and every sensation was like an electric shock. Panting heavily, Shepard took a wobbly step backwards toward the bed with her hands tugging at the collar of his jacket and he caught on quickly. But her legs hit the bed sooner than she thought and as she fell backwards in surprise she pulled him down with her. His heavy weight caused her breath to leave her in a whoosh and his grunt of surprise brushed past her ear.

Shepard snorted before laughing at their actions and Thane followed her example with his own chuckles. The vibrations in his body sent sparks of fire skittering through her nerves and she brought his head up with her hands to kiss him with a passionate fervour, taking advantage of his gasp of surprise to slide her tongue into his mouth and taste his essence. His taste left a tingling sensation on her tongue and reminded her of deserts and exotic spices.

As her hands slid down from his face, she made sure to gently rake her fingers down the sensitive ridges and scales of his throat. The pamphlets that Mordin gave her were _very_ informative, and they didn't disappoint when the drell responded by grinding his hips into her and growling in pleasure. The contact between their lower bodies, along with the inaudible hum from his body, forced her break away from their kiss with a shaky gasp. The sounds they made echoed loudly across the room.

But she wasn't the only one who had read those pamphlets and he demonstrated by his knowledge by kissing his way down her bared throat, fluttering his tongue over her skin. Moving back upwards, he captured her lips in an open-mouthed kiss and slid his tongue over hers, purring in pleasure as he did so.

Her mewl of pleasure was swallowed by his mouth and she clawed at the leather straps on his chest, wanting, no, _needing_ the contact of his skin on hers. Shepard nipped at his lips in frustration and decided that he was wearing entirely too much clothing.

"You're wearing too much," she complained breathily.

His chuckle was nearly inaudible and the reverberations that ran through her body at the noise made her toes curl in delight, "I could say the same about you." One of his hands ran alongside the side of her body before sweeping up to teasingly brush the underside of her breasts and she shifted with a groan.

"We should rectify this problem immediately then," Shepard murmured and when she wrapped her legs around his hips, pressing herself against the bulge in his pants, he was suitably distracted enough for her to reverse their positions.

Thane blinked in surprise, before a small smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. "And how, exactly, are we going to rectify this problem?" His hands settled themselves over her hips and the tip of his thumbs slid underneath her shirt to brush against the skin there.

Smirking, Shepard leaned forward to nip at the corner of his lips before quickly retreating when he turned his head in an attempt to capture her lips. Smiling in response to his groan of frustration, she nibbled her way down to his chest, paying special attention to areas which made him groan and tighten his hands around her waist. With jerky hands she unbuckled all the straps that held his jacket closed before stopping to look up. The smouldering intensity in his dark eyes took her breath away.

She licked her suddenly dry lips and with a boldness that she didn't know she possessed, she lowered her head to visibly swirl her tongue around the zipper of his vest before taking it into her mouth, all the while keeping his eyes locked with hers. Moving slowly downwards, the sound of the zipper unzipping was erotically loud amidst their heavy breaths. And as she revealed stripes that twisted their way down his navel, she just had to trace one with her tongue.

The tensing of his muscles was her only warning before he rolled both of them over and crushed his lips to hers. His deft hands made quick work of her shirt and before long the rest of their clothes had been haphazardly tossed over the bed.

He explored her body with hands that had, for ten years, brought death to countless of lives, but now they brought life to her body, drawing ragged gasps and whimpers of pleasure. He was euphoric on the power that she had given him and felt like he was drowning in it, which was ironic because the lack of air was and still is one of his greatest fears, and yet he embraced it in this moment, because the burning in his lungs and blood reminded him that he was alive and _awake_.

Every place that drew forth a ragged gasp of pleasure was seared into his mind. Every sound that came out of her lips was recorded. The sight of her spread beneath him, lips dark with passion and straining for his touch was burned into eyes.

He had to remember all the things that made her feel pleasure, because he wanted to believe that there could be another time where they could express their love for each other like this. There _would_ be. He refused to think of failure, even though it lurked in the corners of his mind where the memories of battle-sleep, soulless sun-set defiant eyes, and everything else that he wished to forget lay. He refused to think of her falling in battle against the Reapers. As long as she drew breath, he had a purpose, and as long as he lived he would watch over her.

Lowering his head, Thane covered one her nipples with his lips and hummed in a way that made her grind herself against him while a mutilated version of his name spilling from her lips. Her fingers clenched and unclenched the sheets below her spasmodically.

"No more teasing," she was barely able to gasp these words out past the haze of pleasure that had settled over her mind, but she knew he heard her when he shifted his grip on her body and adjusted himself. However, he took her by surprise when he sunk into her roughly, making her claw at his back with her blunt fingernails and bite her lips hard enough to bleed.

His chuckle was guttural and the vibrations that passed from the length of his body into hers made her arch her back and curl her legs around his hip, taking him deeper until he gave his own hiss of pleasure, and now it was her turn to laugh breathily.

As he moved and set up a pace, she felt like she was burning alive. Everything was blistering hot and the cool, slickness of his scales made her press the length of her body to his in an effort to stave off the flames that lapped at the edges of her consciousness. His body was a balm against the overwhelming heat, and the contrast between the dense and rigid planes of the drell's body against the soft, pliant, femaleness brought a shudder to both of their bodies as they tried to fit into each other as best as they could. They weren't a perfect match, much like broken pieces of glass angling to fit together, but somehow, despite the fact that they were both imperfect, they found a reason to live in each other.

They had long since passed the stage of coherence and she could only clutch at him tightly while meeting him thrust for thrust. Every brush of their heated skin was only a reminder of the fire that twisted and coiled in their bodies, seeking to be fulfilled. With one last thrust, Thane tensed and the folds along his throat expanded as an inaudible growl tore its way through his body. The vibrations rattled her teeth and sunk into her bones, electrifying the sensation of him and tipping her over the edge. Shepard gave a cry as the world shimmered and twisted into itself. Her hands gripped him with ferocity, as if he was the only solid thing in a changing world.

"Thane." His name had never sounded sweeter than it did coming from her parted lips. It humbled him that this powerful woman would trust him enough to lower her defences like this and he trembled at the enormity of this moment as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against her shoulder in order to murmur against her skin.

His voice had long descended into the lower ranges that humans couldn't pick up on, but the resonance from his body pressed against her skin and it felt as if he were etching his words into her body. Pressing his lips tightly to her shoulder, he bestowed her with a kiss before shakily repeating himself at an audible level, translating his words for her, "You taste of life and air, siha. A constant reminder of the good things in life. You have reawakened me, and for that, I shall carry you always in my heart and memories."

The light from the aquarium illuminated him in a silvery, ethereal sheen and the play of shadows on his skin only seemed to emphasize how fleeting everything in the world was. Cupping his face in between her hands she brought his face up only to see the wet tracks of tears that ran down his eyes which made her blink back her own tears.

"Don't say that. We're not going to fail in this mission. We'll kick some Reaper ass and then we're going to find a cure for you."

They both knew that her words were empty and yet the conviction in her tone and the way she tenderly brushed his tears away made him want to believe her. Thane closed his eyes as he leaned into her touch and pressed a gentle kiss into her palm, before he moved off of her.

"Thank you, siha."

It was only when she could feel Thane's soft, slumbering breaths brush against her throat with every exhale that she allowed herself a slight wince at the burning sensation on her skin. Mordin hadn't been joking when he said that excessive contact with drell scales could give her rashes, but Shepard couldn't bring herself to care. If this were to be their last night together... she turned into his chest and inhaled the sweet, exotic scent of her assassin to rid herself of the thoughts and images that danced beneath her conscious mind.

They would have more nights like this, Shepard vowed to herself. It was easier to think of success than it was to think of what would happen if she failed in this suicide mission. It weighed on her heavily, the knowledge that she was leading her crew and lover into a suicide mission. But at the same time, it was because of the thought of her crew's life depending on her which gave her the strength to struggle, fight, and claw her way back onto her feet.

Raising a hand she tenderly touched the ridges along his face and throat, caressing them with a feather-light pressure, and she held her breathe when he stirred slightly. However, he only moved to press his face deeper into her touch and she found herself smiling softly at the implicit trust that he seemed to hold in her. While she shifted slightly to get into a more comfortable position, she drew the sheets up on to both of them and tucked herself close to his body.


End file.
